Neo (Matrix): Jedi or Sith?

(*I have only seen the films. I'm not very familiar with the expanded universe.)

Looking beyond the basic concept of Jedi being good and Sith being evil, the motivation and actions of characters are important for determining the category they fall into. Neo, the hero from the Matrix trilogy, is definitely a good guy, but he puts the entire human race at risk for a somewhat selfish reason at one point in the movies. Neo and Anakin Skywalker share similarities in this regard. Neo is similar to the users of the force in the Star Wars universe, but the question is whether he would be best classified as a Sith or a Jedi.

The Force

The Original Star Wars Trilogy was great for many reasons, and the philosophical aspects of the Force was one particularly cool thing about it. I always thought of the force as being apolitical. It was something that could be used for any purpose, depending on the intentions of the user. The force is controlled by the Jedi and the Sith.

The Jedi are supposed to defend the universe. As they appear in the prequel trilogy, they seem to be far too preoccupied with the Trade Federation and some sort of tax disagreement. The Jedi come across as tax agents with magical abilities more than an international police force (Jedi Interpol would have been cool). They also have a very strict code that they must adhere to all the time, or at least that's how it seems when Obi Wan is constantly scolding Anakin or when Qui-Gon Jinn is lecturing Obi Wan (and seemingly breaking rules himself).

On the other hand, the Sith seem to be about individuals and how they use their emotions to take control of the force and shape their destiny. The Sith are supposed to be selfish and not benevolent like the Jedi.

So the Jedi are about rules and order while the Sith are about using personal feelings as a guide for action. Yes, the Sith are evil, but that's because we keep meeting Sith (Maul, Dooku, and Vader) that are answering to Emperor Palpatine. Shouldn't a true Sith only be answering to himself?

Unfortunately, George Lucas ruined this idea of the force with the Midi-chloraian concept (the force has a will that is told to the users of the force by the Midi-chlorians, who also determine how strong someone is based on how many live in a person's blood stream...or something like that). Since Lucas never goes into detail about the Midi-Chlorians after the first prequel film, I will ignore it for now.


Motivations

Neo from the Matrix is pretty much a Jedi without a lightsaber. His character has some similarities to Anakin.

The star wars prequels talk about a prophecy where Anakin is supposed to bring balance to the force. At that point in time, there are only two Sith at any given moment and there are very many Jedi. If the force is apolitical, then the force is unbalanced because there isn't an equal number of Sith and Jedi. If that's the case, then Anakin brings balance when he kills off almost all of the Jedi. By the time of the original Starwars trilogy, Darth Vader and the Emperor are representatives of the Sith while Obi Wan and Yoda are there for the Jedi. Balanced, but the Sith now have an unfair power advantage in the universe.

If Anakin is destined to bring balance to the force, then does he really have control of his character arc? Neo, similarly is chosen to be The One, and he has a role to fulfill, but he seems to have to make one direct choice when it's time for him to either save or neglect the world. Neo is destined to be The One, but what he does with his power is up to him. How much choice does Anakin have when it?s established that he has to bring balance to the force? What does balance mean exactly?

Most of Anakins' actions are based off his emotions, from revenge after his mother dies, to desperation when he learns his wife, Padme, is going to die.

Neo similarly bases his actions on emotion at the most critical point in the Matrix films. In the second movie, the architect of the matrix tells Neo that he has to choose a door. One will lead him back to the matrix so he can try to save